High
by Kinoarashi
Summary: A strange romance between the strange, new kid with a shady past and the notverypopular girl whom nobody seems to notice except for her small group of friends. Only problems rise to challenge their relationship. Is he really who he says he is?
1. Prologue

I can't believe I actually did it… But I did….

A few things befote this starts. First, I have never played KHII so some of the characters will seem OOC, or get a somewhat vague or actually wrong decisions. Second, there will be no OC in here, only original KH cast, except for the main character which is Mikel from my other story (The Spirits Within) but with a different personality. Third, this is my first high-school fic so excuse me if something goes amiss somewhere in there.

Summary: Read first paragraph… Also, no defined parings yet.

High – Chapter 1: Prologue: A New Life.

Let me tell you some things about this story. It starts off as they always do: the first day of school, and with a new student in class. This story is about that one guy. A guy who arrived to change everyone's perfect lives.

The main character of this story, Mikel Chormag, was a normal guy. Everyone said that he was a bit serious and quiet, but lightened up once he was confident with new people around. He wasn't one of those muscular, silent type of people, but he wasn't some ratty, weak, spaghetti bodied boy either. He was normal. He had brown hair; not spiked, not in any excentric looking way, it was just… there. People had always said that he was handsome, yet he never really cared much about what other people thought about him.

Now, I could tell you all about him in just about three paragraphs, but how about you find out the rest about him during the course of my story, ok?

And so it starts…

Mikel had been in town most of the summer vacations, so he knew his way around. He had been to the park and mall a few times, but he never stayed long since he had no one to hang around with. He had seen a bunch of people that he fully expected to meet later at school, but he never really got to meet them, since it was difficult for him to go out a lot.

See, Mikel might be a normal kid, but his life has been far from normal. He had lost his parents in a freak storm when he was about 6, and had been living with his grandmother along with his little sister, Mia, and his older brother, Gary. About 5 years ago, Gary was diagnosed (sp?) with cancer and sent away to a rehab facility. The reason they moved to this town was that they could no longer maintain the house back at the great City of Arkane, so they decided to move into this old house their grandfather had bought just before he died. Of cancer. So now grams owned the house, and an uncle who lived overseas supported them by paying Mikel's and Mia's school, and also paid for his grandmother's medications.

He woke up today like if it was any other day. Nothing special about today. Then with a jolt he realized, today was the first day. He quicky got up and changed, or at least tried to. He was so distracted and nervous about school that it had been a full two minutes before he realized that he was trying to pull his pants over his head. Anyway, once everything was sorted out, he ended up with a pair of jeans and a plain, red shirt, so he headed down for breakfast.

"Mia, why aren't you ready yet?" Mikel asked once he saw his sister still in her pijamas.

"Huh?" She looked confused. Suddenly it dawned on her, and abandoning her cereal dashed to her room to get ready. Mia was 14 years old, only a year younger than Mikel, and they we're going to the same school.

"Hey, grams." He hadn't seen his grnadmother until now, and greeted her.

"You takin' the bikes to school today?" She asked. Margaret was by no means a bent, wrinkled, grumpy woman. She was old, seventy years old, but all the exersize she had done when she was a kid had really paid off. She was healthy as a horse, and still had lots of energy and life left in her.

"No, grams. We're walking today." He replied, grabbing some toast from the table. He didn't really had an appetite, but he just couldn't manage starting off empty.

"Ready!" Mia yelled from somewhere in the house, and a minute ready came running to the living room.

"Ok, let's go."

"You kids be careful now!" Margaret called after them.

"Yes, grams!" They called back.

And so their day began. They walked down the street a few blocks, and then turned left in an alley, so that they came out right in front of their new school. This was a shortcut Mia had found on her various expeditions around town.

They stood before the towering building that was their new school. Wondering what awaited them inside those halls. Maybe a new life. Maybe a new hell. Maybe nothing at all. Only one way to find out…

"Attention!" yelled Mr. Leonhart. "Attention, class!" He waited until the last whispers died. "Please welcome our new, gracefully late student, Mikel Chormag."

Mikel walked into the room, and every single face turned to him. He kept his face straight, emotionless. He thought he would feel strange, awkward, but in truth he felt… brave, like if this was just a challenge to prove his nerves.

"You can take your seat." The teacher said, "Behind Ms. Leda, I guess."

Ms. Leda was a kind of small girl with reddish-auburn hair. She was very pretty, Mikel observed. He walked up to his seat, but before sitting he turned and saw Mr. Leonhart staring at him.

"Today, if you please."

Mikel smirked and sat down, never taking his eyes of the teacher.

"Now, today's just an intro to my class, which is History for those who don't know." He turned to look at Mikel once he said this. "This period we will study the rise and fall of the Kingdom of Costas and the Black Death. Anyone know what the Black Death is?"

Nobody raised their hands.

"How about you Leda?"

The girl in front of Mikel shook her head, and he caught a waft of some flowery fragance.

"Ok, then. Chormag?"

"A disease." Mikel responded. The red-haired girl turned to look at him, then turned back quickly.

"Well apparently Arkane has better education than Destiny Islands…" the teacher said resignedly. Some people chukled nervously.

This would be a slow class, Mikel thought, might as well look around. To his left was, well, the wall, and a window. To his right was a blonde, spiky haired kid who couldn't seem to keep his eyes off another girl farther to the right. The girl was also blonde, but hell was she beautiful. She had blue eyes (she does doesn't she?) and wore a simple, small, white dress that perfectly outlined her body.

Just as Mikel looked away, the girl looked over at him, but then turned her eyes to the guy to the right, and smiled widely. Mikel shook off a strong desire to make a loud, gagging noise.

"Sorry to interrupt your sightseeing, Ms.Regal, but could you please pay attention?" Lionhart stared coldly at the blond girl, who had just turned away from the other guy, glowing bright red. "Thank you. Now, as I was saying: There will be cero tolerance for late homework or classwork. And please tell me that detention for troublemakers goes without saying."

Everyone except Mikel and blondie nodded. Suddenly, a loud bell rang throught the hallways, and everyone started gathering their things.

"Well, class dissmised, I guess…" And so it was…

Remember, this is just a prologue, that's why it's short. Anyway, feedback is appreciated, and of course, constructive criticism is more than welcome.


	2. Random Acts Of Kindness

High-. Chapter 2: Random Acts Of Kindness.

As soon as Mikel had gathered his things, a hand grabbed his arm and started dragging him outside, and along the corridor. It was the auburn-haired girl, whos last name was Leda.

"Uh, not to be rude," said Mikel as he let himself be pulled along. "but where the hell do you think we're going?"

"To your locker, duh." She answered without even looking back.

"Waaaaait a tick." Mikel pulled his arm out of her grip. She stopped dead, and turned around.

"You're going to be late, you know? I'm just trying to be nice…"

"Oh, yeah, nice. Anyway, firsto you gotta tell me your name."

She looked up brightly. "Kairi. Now c'mon." And off she went.

He sighed and took off behind her.

"Ok here we are." They had finally reached the lockers, which were exhaustingly far from his next class, which started in about 2 minutes. "Let's see… 663, 664, 665…. Here we are!" She exclaimed once they reached locker 666.

"Har har, very funny…" Mikel said sarcastically.

Kairi giggled and hid half her face behind her books, embarrassed. "Well gotta go, I'm gonna be late. Bye, Mike!" she called the last sentence over her shoulder as she dashed in the opposite direction.

He opened his locker without the slightest bit of amusement. He stowed the books he wouldn't need, and dropped his Math book. He bent down to pick it up and noticed an abandoned sketchbook lying on the floor. He picked it up and opened it in order to discover the owner, but before he could get a proper look, a pair of small, soft hands snatched it away.

"Don't look at it!" A high-pitched voice said loudly. Several people stared. Mikel looked up and saw that it was the same blondie from last class.

He stood up. He was a little taller than her. "So it's yours?"

"Duh…" she said softly, looking down to her book and checking to see if it was undamaged.

"They're good… The pictures." Mikel said awkwardly. He didn't know what else to say.

She looked up at him, and then looked down to her book again. "Thanks…"

An awkward silence followed. Suddenly, Mikel looked at his watch and saw that he was already 2 minutes late.

"Crap! Gotta go, see you later!" he nearly yelled and ran to his class at the very same moment that she had opened her mouth to say something.

She jumped a bit but after she recovered she said softly: "So, what's your name…" To no one in particular. She slowly closed her sketchbook again and followed suit.

X X X

Mikel arrived at the science lab exactly six minutes and thirty-six seconds late, and was about to storm into the room when he saw that the teacher's back was turned. So he caught the eye of a brown-haired guy who's hair seemed to ignore the laws of physics. Once he had caught his eye, he nodded to him and put a finger to his mouth, signaling for him to be silent, and slooooooowly pushed the door open. At once the teacher's coma-inducing droning hit him. The teacher this time was a kind of short, skinny, young girl with short, black hair who look like she was in her twentie's. Also, she wore a green bandana, for some weird reason.

"So anyway, this period is going to be long and boring, but hey, I'm not the one who makes the programs. So anyway, maybe you guys'll actually pass this subject and who knows get a PhD or whatever. So anyway…" And on and on and on and on. It seemed unnatural for a girl like that to have such a… hypnotizing effect

He quietly made his way to the back of the class, holding his finger over his mouth so people remained silent, and slipped into the first unnoccupied seat he found, right next to a brunette who looked like she was on Prozac (sp?). She was resting her head in her hand, her eyes out of focus, and a bit of drool runing down her mouth.

Mikel noticed this, and seriously considered changing his seat, but couldn't without attracting unwanted attention. Suddenly, a 'shlurp' sound was heard and he looked to his left, just as the druggy-looking brunette looked right. She was about to scream in fright, but Mikel put his hand over her mouth just in time and all that was heard was a loud gasp.

To his horror, everyone in the room turned to see Mikel, with his mouth hanging slightly open and his hand on the girl's mouth. And the girl was wide-eyed with a small pool of drool in the desk.

"What in the name of all that is Materia are you doing?" Asked the teacher, bewildered.

We both stared at her, speechless. Suddenly, Mikel felt something warm in the hand that was still in her mouth. Something warm and… wet.

"Uh… She was just gonna sneeze, and I didn't want her to interrupt you, that's all." He said quickly, eager to remove his hand. The girl made a sound of agreement.

"Ooooook." Said the teach, apparently unconvinced, but not willing to press the point.

As she turned around, Mikel quickly removed his hand and wiped it in well… his pants. "Why the hell did you lick me?" He whispered.

"Why the hell did you do… that?" she whispered back.

"I-" He began, but was cut off.

"Hey," The teacher turned around and looked like she had just figured something out. Mikel froze. "Aren't you the new guy?"

He sighed, relieved. "Yeah."

"Oh," She put on a puzzled face. "Ok… So anyway…"

Mikel relaxed and saw that the girl beside him was staring at him. He raised his eyebrow.

"I'm Selphie." She said.

"Mikel."

"Oh. Michael. Nice name." She smiled.

He decided to ignore that slight misconception. He smiled too, but not as brightly. It was more like a smirk "Thanks. You too."

"You know why the teach let you off?" she asked, as though she wanted to show off something.

"No. Why?" He didn't really care, but decided to humor her just for the sake of conversation.

"She's my cousin."

"Really?" he said, genuely surprised. "What's her name?"

"Yuffie."

"No, her real name.

"That's it."

Mikel raised both eyebrows. "How old is she?"

"Now now, don't be getting any weird ideas." She said, with a face of mock dissaproval. "She's 24, but graduated top of her class, so the pincipal hired her."

"That's nice…"

"Yep…"

And so the class wore on and on, while no one paid any attention at all. Yuffie didn't seem to mind though, since she eventually stopped talking and started fiddling with some papers in her desk. So after what seemed like an eternity, the bell rang and everyone filled out of the classroom.

"See ya later, I guess." Selphie said once they were outside. He nodded.

"So, I see you've been quite popular with the ladies."

Mikel whirled around and saw who the speaker was. It was Mia.

"Mia. What do you want?" he said unimpressed.

"Nothin', just wanna hang around with my big bro!" she said happily, which was not very characteristic of her. The comment I mean.

"Go away." He turned and started walking but was stopped by none other than Kairi Leda.

"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded.

"Away." He said, with a quizzical look, and brushed past her, levaing her with a face of slight dissapointment. She looked down to her shoes, but then recovered and stared at Mia, who was still there.

"Is he always like this?" she asked, walking nearer.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, he is kinda distant…"

"Oh… I'm Kairi, by the way." She said, extending her hand.

"Mia." Mia smiled and shook Kairi's hand.

"Hey, listen, I gotta go, but look for me at lunch I wanna introduce you to a bunch of people!" She said brightly.

"Oh. Ok." Mia said nervously. This is one strange girl, she though.

"And bring your brother along!" She called over her shoulder.

Now how the hell did she know he was my brother? She mused in her mind.

X X X

She couldn't figure out what was it about that kid that made har so… nervous? Is it nervous? No. Maybe it's because she just met him… Yeah that's it. Besides, she didn't have any time to think about that. What's wrong with me? She asked no one in particular.

"Naminè Regal?" a voice snapped her back to reality.

"Um, here." She answered.

"Roxas Arson?"

"Here." A voice across the room answered

Naminè chukled to herself. That last name had always made her laugh. He also made her laugh. They had been friends for, like, ever, but lately, they had been exchanging looks that suggested something else. Last class, when she had looked at Roxas and smiled like an idiot, she didn't even know if she really had feelings for him, or if she was doing it so that that guy, Michael, would stop staring. It made her nervous… or whatever.

"So," The Inglish teacher said, "Does anyone know who burnt down the National Archives of Language, back in the 1940s?"

Some guy in the front raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"Roxas did it, sir."

Immediately, the whole room burst into laughter, including the teacher and Roxas himself. People had always made fun of his last name, and he has never minded. That's another thing she had always liked about him; instead of getting angry at people, he always just laughed it off, and continued with that strange, complicated, little thing that goes by the name of life.

Before she knew it, the bell had rung and everyone was standing up to gather their things. She bent down to get a book that had fallen before, and another heavy book slipped from her grasp and landed on her index finger.

She cursed under her breath.

"Need some help?" a voice said from above. It was Roxas.

"No thanks, I just broke my nail." She smiled, and put the hurt finger in her mouth. It was a habit she had since childhood.

He pulled her hand out of her mouth and looked at the finger. "It seems okay."

"I know." She smiled again. "Hey, I gotta go, I forgot my books for next period."

"Oh. Ok. See you at lunch, then."

X X X

Mikel opened locker 666, his own locker, and deposited his books from third period. Just as he took out his books for next class, he saw blondie from the first period walking towards him.

"Caused quite an impression did I?" he said once Naminè came nearer.

"Are you kidding?" She said with a face of true disbelief.

They both remained in silence for a while, staring at each other. Suddenly, Mikel smiled.

"Yeah." He said, laughing.

She rolled her eyes and opened locker 665. "This is my locker, jackass."

"Cold, princess." He said with a smirk.

"Shut up."

They both closed their lockers at the same time, and walked off in opposite directions. Suddenly, Mikel turned around.

"Hey!" he yelled after her.

Naminè stopped, and turned too.

"I didn't get your name." he called.

"It's Naminè." She called back, and immediately turned around and walked off, blushing, as fast as she could without running.

"See you later then, Naminè." Mikel said under his breath.

Fourth period came and went and before he knew it, it was lunchtime. He made his way to the cafeteria using the pocket map of the school he had been using all day. He walked into the room, and looked around. About half the tables were occupied, and people kept coming in. Soon, the whole room would be full.

"Mike! Michael!" A voice called. Is my name that hard to remember? He thought.

Kairi was the one yelling, she was standing beside a table full of people, which were all staring stonily at Mikel. One of them was Naminè, and another was Mia. He walked to the table, and Selphie, the girl from science class, came into the room, approacehd the table, took an empty seat and started talking full speed. Then, she noticed Mikel standing there.

"Oh, hey!"

"Everyone, this is Michael- I mean, Mikel." Kairi said. "Ok, so. That one's Sora." She said, pointing to the spiky brunet he had seen at scienca class.

"Hey." He said, smiling.

"That's Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie, whom you've already met." She pointed to each one in turn.

Mikel greeted each one as they were mentioned. Then, he turned to Naminè. "Why, hello, princess." He said, smirking.

Naminè rolled her eyes, "Hey."

"You know each other?"

"We've met." He said, "And where's your blondie friend? The one with the criminal last name."

"Well," Kairi said, "He doesn't hang around with us that much, but he's great friends with Naminè, here."

He nodded.

"Watcha doin' standin' there, man? Sit down." The guy named Wakka said, with a weird Jamaican-ish accent. And so he did.

"Hey guys!" Mikel turned and saw the science teacher, Yuffie, nearly running to them, lab coat flapping behind her. "Whatcha think of my class?"

"Bored to death in less than five minutes." Said, Selphie. "Seriously, you said 'so anyway' so many times, I'm gonna have nightmares about it."

"Awww, you suck too, Selphie."

"Thanks!" Selphie said, brightly.

"So Yuffie," Kairi said, with a weird face. "How's it going with Mr. Lionhart?"

"What?" Yuffie stood up, glowing red. Then she turned her attention to Mikel. "Hey, aren't you the guy who snuck into my class earlier?"

"Heh, caught that didn't you?" He replied.

"A blind, deaf, seventy year old man with ADD would've caught that. It was a nice try, though." Everyone laughed a little.

"Yeah, I guess it was."

"Oh, yeah, everyone!" Kairi Kairi caught the attention of the table. "Saturday we're spending the whole day at the beach to celebrate the first week of school."

"You celebrate going to school?" Mikel said surprised.

"Nah," said Tidus. "It's just a bad excuse to get our parents to let us spend the whole day there."

"By whole day, we mean we're going to actually sleep there." Naminè informed Mikel.

"Yeah, so we meet at nine o'clock at my place, and from there we go to the beach." Kairi added. "You can go too if you want, Yuffie."

"Nah, I've got better things to do on Saturday."

"She means date with Squall." Selphie whispered.

"I heard that!"

Well this is chapter 2. R&R. I know I said that Mikel was 15 last chapter, but erase that, just picture them in the age you want to.


	3. Bittersweet Symphony

This is chapter 3 for High, enjoy. If you detect any mistakes in grammar, or the story in general, please feel free to point them out.

High – Chapter 3

Bittersweet Symphony

Maybe it was the aniticipation. Maybe something else. But this had been the slowest week of his life. Time had decided to play him a cruel joke. But the day had finally come.

"Wakey wakey, Mikey." Mia said quietly.

"Hrmm?" Mikel opened one eye, and closed it. "Go away Mia, let me sleep."

"Today's the big day."

He shot up. "What time is it?"

"8:30."

"Damn it, Mia…" He got out of bed and went to change. He came out in his swimming ware, a black t-shirt, some slippers he found in there, and his sunglasses.

Mia was sitting in his bed, wearing nothing but her bikini.

"Put some clothes on, woman… You ain't going out wearing only that."

"I'm obviously not going out in this, I was just waiting for you." She said angrily.

So she went to her room and emerged fully clothed, her swimsuit beneath her clothes, and at 8:45 they were ready to go.

By the time they arrived at Kairi's they were fifteen minutes late, and everyone was already waiting outside for the both of them.

Mia waved happily at them, and strangely, only Tidus waved back with the same enthusiasm. Mikel stared at the both of them, surprised. "Good God…" he whispered.

"You're late!" Kairi demanded loudly.

Mikel's eyes narrowed as if the sun was glaring at his face, a sign of annoyance. Naminè let out a short giggled and covered her mouth, and Sora shot her a weird look.

"Let's go." Sora said.

They slowly made their way to the beach. Taking bikes would've been quicker but they had the whole day ahead of them anyway. The streets were completely empty; people had slept in after a Friday night and now they would have the morning to themselves.

They got to the beach at 10:00 o'clock and as they guessed, it was empty too, except for some tourists and families. They chose a nice spot in a small space that was surrounded by sand dunes.

"This place is great!" Selphie chirped exitedly.

"Yeah!" Kairi joined her. "Ok, so you guys set up camp while the girls go change."

And so the four girls jumped to their feet and took off without a backward glance. Well, kinda. Once they were out of earshot they started disscusing their favorite subject. Guys.

"So what's the deal with Tidus anyway, Mia?" Selphie was the first one to launch into action.

"I- I… I don't know… I mean… He's kinda cute… But he looks at me weird." Then, Mia rounded on Naminè. "And whats the deal with you and my brother?" She asked with a face of disgust, eager to change the subject.

"What?" She stopped and stared at her with nothing but disbelief etched in her face. "There is no deal."

"He calls you princess."

"And it's about time you start calling him prince."

"You guys! There is no prince! There is no princess! We're just friends." She said with a tone of finality. The others just stared at her giggling.

"Hey gals."

They all whirled around in unison.

"Riku!" Kairi smiled broadly and hugged him.

Riku was a strong,muscular kid who looked a lot older than he was. He had silver-white hair and aqua eyes. He used to be Sora's best friend, back when he went to the same school, but grew quite apart when Riku moved to a nearby town.

"What are you doing here?" Selphie asked, also smiling.

"My family wanted to spend the weekend here. So where are the guys?" he asked looking around.

"They're over there." Naminè pointed to a small congregation of dunes. "You staying with us today?"

"Obviously. It's not like I'm about to miss THIS day. Well, catch you all later." He waved, and took off towards the dunes.

X X X

"Dude, I'm telling you. There is no way the new PlayStation is better then the new XBOX." As it happens, Sora and Tidus were inmersed in their week-long disscusion about the new game consoles. Frankly, it was getting old.

"Why don't both of you get some girls, ya?" Wakka fired at them.

"Right on, brother." Mikel lazily gave Wakka the thumbs-up from his own resting place. He was lying in the side of a dune, under an umbrella, trying to get some sleep.

"Hey, you girls up for a game of volleyball?"

Sora's eyes widened. "Riku!" He ran to him and pulled him into a bone-shattering embrace.

"Hey, stop it or they'll know about us." He joked. Nobody laughed. The strange, brown haired kid with the sunglasses Riku ahd seen previously only raised his eyebrows beneath the glasses. "I am not gay!" Riku yelled at him.

Mikel shrugged in a 'whatever' way and went back to sleep.

"I haven't seen you since… ever!" Sora exclaimed.

"Dude, it's only been two months." Riku glanced around the camp Wakka and Tidus set up. "Hey Tiddy, Wacky." He had invented those nicknames last year.

"Hey Ricky." They fired back.

"Oh yeah, that's Mikel." Sora pointed to the snoozing boy lying in the sand.

"I like him." Riku stated. Again, everyone stared with raised eyebrows, including Mikel, who had woken up to hear his own introduction. Riku glanced sideways at nothing in particular. "That's it. I am not hanging out with you anymore!" He pointed to Wakka, then went to set up a volleyball net.

"What the hell did I do, man?"

Sora, Wakka, and Tidus got up and followed Riku. About five minutes later, Mikel opened his eyes to find the camp deserted. The hell? He thought, he then got up, stretched, picked up his umbrella and towel, and joined the others.

"About time." Riku said. "Ok so it's girls vs. boys."

"We're uneven." Naminè pointed out. The girls had all returned and were in their swimsuits, which were mostly bikinis, except for Selphie who wore a one-piece swimsuit.

"You can count me out." Mikel laid the towel in the sand, stuck the umbrella in, and flopped down to get some more rest. "Didn't get much sleep last night."

"You're just a bundle of joy, aren't you?" Riku pointed out.

"I bet you are, fruitcake." Mikel smirked. Everyone laughed loudly, everyone except Riku. Nobody had ever outplayed him like that.

So they got started on their little game, with no side getting a clear advantage. It happened when they were in the heat of an important point, when Riku hit the ball, but instead of going into the other side of the makeshift court, it landed right next to Mikel's face, showering him in sand.

"Mother-!" he stumbled up and spit out a mouthful of sand. "Your gonna get yours, fruity-loops!" He yelled, pointing to Riku. He slipped off his sand-filled shirt and joined the girl's team. "Rock and Roll, princess." He said to Naminè as he passed beside her. She responded with a weird stare.

After about 20 minutes, Kairi scooped up some sand and threw it at Sora's face. He looked stunned for a while and then returned the favor. They laughed for while then took off for the sea; Kairi, for some reason, looked like a retard while she ran. Everyone followed suit and ran for the shore, but Naminè stopped once the water touched her knees, but Mikel grabbed her from behind and dragged her along into the water.

She emerged coughing and spluttering, gasping for breath. "You jerk!" She yelled at Mikel. "I could've died!" Suddenly, her anger evaporated, and she jumped at him, but he turned around at the right moment and caught her. They both sank beneath the surface, tickling and pinching each other. They came back up laughing like crazy.

"Guys, let's get something to eat, I'm starving." It was, of course, Sora.

Everyone got out of the water, making a mad dash back to camp.

"Damn, I forgot my towel!" Kairi rummaged frantically in her backpack.

"I'd offer you mine," Mikel said, " but I just won't." He picked up his sand logged towel and threw it back in his backpack.

"Don't put it there!" Mia hastily pulled it out again. "You'll ruin my stuff!"

"Hey, why don't both of you go get us some wood? That way you can sun-dry." Riku pointed out.

"Oh yeah, great idea!" Kairi fired back angrily. "Were should we look? The nearby forest?"

Riku frowned. "There's gotta be some driftwood laying around."

"C'mon." Mikel pulled her by the arm.

They walked along the beach, picking up any piece of wood they might find. Sunset was not long now as the sky had begun to turn orange.

"Look." Kairi pointed to the horizon. "Isn't it beautiful?"

The horizon split the sky and sea perfectly. The sky was lined with a myriad of clouds and tinged with orange and pink. It looked fit for a painter's masterpiece. The sun was a giant globe of orange and yellow, and cast a vague reflection in the sea.

"It's going to be night soon. Let's go back." Mikel said.

"Wait. I… I want to ask you something."

He thought he knew what she wanted to ask…

"Do you like Naminè?" she said quickly.

"Were friends." He said, smiling.

"She told Mia the same thing."

Mikel raised his eyebrow. "Leave it to Mia…"

She giggled a bit. "Yeah… The thing is, it doesn't seem like you're just friends."

He smiled again. "Were just friends."

"You wanted to kiss her. I saw it in your eyes."

"You've known me for less than week." Then, after a long pause, "Maybe I did wanto to kiss her. Maybe I didn't. I don't really know what's going on."

She walked around to face Mikel, "You can tell me." She said, looking straight into his soft, brown eyes.

"No, I can't." Without another word, he took off for camp, leaving a stunned Kairi behind.

By the time he arrived, the others had already lit a fire and were roasting marshmellows, happily talking about whatever they had to talk about. Everyone fell silent when he appeared over a dune, holding some wood. He silently left the wood beside the fire and proceeded to find a quiet place to think. In the distance he could barely see a dark figure making it's way to their fire.

Everyone around the fire glanced at each other, silently.

"I'll go." Naminè stood up, and followed the footprints left by Mikel. She soon found him a short distance away, sitting in the sand, staring at the stars.

"Hey." She said once she got closer, then sat down beside him.

"Hey, princess."

"Whatcha doing?"

"Thinking."

She sighed. "About?"

It took a long time for him to answer. "About many things. Life… Kairi… you…"

"Really? What about me?" She asked, smiling.

"About how you like to get into other people's bussines." He smiled and broke his skyward gaze to look into her eyes.

All of a sudden she looked flustered and looked away. "Oh… I… I'm sorry, I just-"

"I'm kidding."

"Oh."

They sat in silence for a long while, admiring the stars.

"So why don't you tell me somehting about you?"

"Excuse me?" He looked puzzled.

"Well, I was just thinking…" she bowed her head, staring at the floor as if she was embarrassed. "I don't know anything about you. All I know is your name and what you've told me, which is… nothing. You're always so misterious and dark. You seem afraid to get close to anyone for fear that they might… know you."

"There is nothing to say."

"Yes there is…"

He sighed in annoyance. "Well, maybe I don't want to talk to you about it." He said, a little harsher than he had intended. It was dark, but he could still see tears forming in her blue eyes. She looked truly beautiful in the moonlight, and her innocent face had no place for tears. He wanted to say 'I'm sorry' but the words just wouldn't come out.

She tried her best to blink back the tears, but she couldn't stop one from escaping and trickling down her cheek. Mikel motioned to wipe it off, but she turned away, finally letting her tears flow freely.

"I… I'm sorry… I'm just not ready to talk about it yet." It was a lame excuse, but it would have to do for now.

She sniffled.

Sigh… "Fine. I'll tell you…"

Naminè looked at him, her face was a mess, tears mingled with sand when she tried to wipe them away. "R… really?" she said among sniffles.

"Yeah, but you can't tell anyone."

"I promise."

He hesitated, casting surreptitious glances at her expecting face.

"My parents are not on a trip in Hawaii. They're… well… see, when I was six, we went out on this really great, sunny day, but about 2 hours later, the sky clouds up and it starts raining like crazy, so my father gets distracted for about one second, and we were hit head-on by an eighteen-wheeler. Lucky for them, they both died instantly. I don't know why, I don't know how, but I lived with barely a scratch on my forehead." Mikel pushed his hair up, and on the left side of his head, there was evidence of a deep wound.

"I… I-I didn't know… I'm sorry…" Naminè looked like she would cry again.

"That's not all." He continued. "I used to have an older brother. His name was Gary. He had just graduated from High School when they caught signs of leucemia in his body. He died only two years ago, so my grandma, Mia, and I moved here last summer, because we didn't have any money to support our old life. I contacted an uncle, and now he pays our school and medicines, and sometimes, our food."

Naminè was really crying now. "Please… stop…" she cried.

"It's the worst thing you can imagine, living off the charity of someone you've never met in your life. Wondering if there would be a check in the mail every month."

She sobbed uncontrolably. "How can you?"

"How can I what?" he replied coldly.

"How can you be so.. cold about this? How can you be so heartless?" she cried.

"It's been ten years since it happened…. I'm sorry." he wiped her tears off her pale face, and pushed her hair out of the way. Then, he started moving forward, his face closing onto hers.

Naminè closed her eyes, prepared for his lips to suddenly connect with hers, but it never came. She opened her eyes and found him staring at a seashell he had picked up. He was just reaching for the shell, she thought, kind of dissapointed, but not really surprised. "It's a Thalassa shell…" she informed him. "Kairi's making a necklace of them…"

"I'll give it to her tomorrow."

They both stared into the distance for a while, not saying anything. Suddenly, Naminè rested her head in his shoulder, and put her arms around him.

"N-Naminè?"

She smiled mischeviously. "Let's stay awake 'till dawn, and we'll watch it. Together."

"Ok…" he smiled ever so slightly and laid down on the sand, with the blond princess still clinging to his arm. They were both asleep within minutes…

Aww, well it was kind of corny writing this chapter, but it had ot be done, hope you enojoyed it and drop a review if ya got the time.


	4. Tears and Rain

This is chapter 4 for High. Enjoy.

High

Chapter 4: Tears and Rain

Monday morning held no evidence that such a beautiful day as Friday had actually existed. It was a stormy day whose sky had been covered by a barrier of clouds no sliver of sunlight could hope to cross.

It was the sound of water hitting the window that had woken Mikel that day, followed, of course, by the alarm clock and the loud yell of "Get up!" from his grandmother.

"I'm up…" He answered groggily from beneath his covers. He sat up, scratching his head lazily. Suddenly, Mia burst into his room, and locked herself in his bathroom. Too lazy to actually react, he simply grunted a 'Hmm' and left the room, on his way to breakfast.

He arrived at the kitchen only to find that Margaret was sitting at the table, reading the newspaper. She was sniffling and her nose was bright red.

"Grams, are you sick again?" He asked.

"No, no. It's just my allegies acting up." Suddenly she went into a fit of coughing. "Why don't you pour yourself some cereal today. Let me rest a bit…" she said once she recovered.

"Go lay down, I'll take care of Mia."

"No, no. Just… just sitting here quietly will do." She went into another coughing fit.

"Hey everyone!" Mia crashed into the room.

"What… what the hell is wrong with you?" Mikel asked disconcerted. And he had a right to, for Mia had come out looking different. She was wearing a short skirt and a plain tank top, and she had applied some serious makeup to her face. What was weird is that she had never worn a skirt above the knee before, and mostly didn't like to show off any extra skin. The makeup was unusual too. Margaret had always told her she was beautiful just the way she was.

"What? W-why are you staring?" She said nervously.

Mikel turned back to his cereal, and Margaret to her newspaper.

"What?" she asked again.

"Nothing!" They both answered together.

"Whatever…" She grabbed a bowl and poured some cereal on it. She took about two bites and was interrupted.

"Ok, let's go."

"What? You haven't even combed your hair." Mia pointed out. Oh… yeah, he thought. He went back to his room to get ready.

Meanwhile, Mia and Margaret heard a soft tapping in the window. Mia rushed to it and saw that it was Tidus waving to her. She quickly ran to the door, stepped outside and slammed the door behind her.

"What are you doing here?" She said happily.

"C'mon, I'm here to walk you to school."

She turned the tinniest tinge of red at this. "Ok!" She went inside the house, grabbed her backpack and and ran out again, taking off with Tidus.

"Where the hell is Mia?" Mikel ased once he came down.

"Oh, she left with some kid. Gino, Timo, or something like that." Margaret coughed once, "You better get going too."

X X X

Mikel arrived at locker 666, only to find a familiar blond girl opening the locker next to it.

"Hi!" Naminè smiled brightly when she saw him approaching.

"Hey." He replied curtly.

"It's Monday. We have History together."

"Yep." He was rummaging in his locker.

Naminè sighed. "Ok, so see you there."

Mikel simply grunted as he tried to pull out a book from under some heavy ones. Naminè slammed her locker shut, and walked away with a look of annoyance.

History class was boring, to say the least. Mikel sat in his familiar seat behind Kairi and beside Roxas.

"Ok so today we start with the kingdom of Costas." Mr. Leonhart wrote the word 'Costas' in the blackboard. "This kingdom started out as a small island just of the coast of Vault, but the islanders dumped the dirt they dug for the foundations of their capital city into the sea, makng the island grow bigger, and bigger. It was during the War of Pasadena that it became clear that they possesed the best and most advanced navy force."

It was at this time that everybody stopped paying attention and submerge in their thoughts. Kairi kept twisting her head to look at him with a preoccupied face, but every time he asked, she would just shrug and say she'd tell him later. Roxas kept shooting furtive looks at his watch, willing it to go faster, but at the same time knowing that if he kept watching, it would only go slower.

Naminè was resting her head on her arms, apparently fast asleep, along with about half the class. The class ended abruptly with the bell ringing. The sleeping half of the class lept up and immediately started gathering their things, while the stupefied half actually took a moment to realize the class had ended.

"I need to talk to you." Kairi whispered in Mikel's ear. Mikel left the classroom and glanced around the hallway to see if anyone was trying to eavesdrop. Naminè gave him a look and strode down the hall.

"What?"

Now Kairi glanced around the hallway nervously. "I need a favor."

Mikel raised his eyebrows and Kairi told him.

"This is either really dangerous, or incredibly stupid."

"Actually, its incredibly dangerous and stupid." Kairi said with a curt laugh.

"Okay, let's do this."

They both walked down the hallway in the wrong direction. Towards the Principal's office…

X X X

Sora had never been the most occupied person in the world, and today was no different.

"I've been having these wired thoughts lately…" He said.

Tidus shot him a weird look. "Like what?"

"Like…" Sora hung his head in thought for a while. "Like, is any of this for real? Or not?"

"Are you on crack again, man?" Wakka asked suspiciously.

"No, I am not high. And that other time was an accident." Sora replied angrily.

"Whatever man, we have to finish this by tomorrow." Tidus busily typed some information in his computer and proceeded to print it.

But today, Sora had no space in his mind for that. Only one thing occupied his head. She had been his friend ever since she aarived on the island for the first time; the day the sky fell, some say. A meteor shower fell the day Kairi arrived at Destiny Islands.

He had never thought about her the way he did today. Everywhere he looked, he saw her. He imagined himself with her, daydreamed about what the perfect date with her would be; how it would feel like to kiss those soft, pink lips of hers.

"What the hell is wrong with me?"

"You watch to much T.V., man." Wakka interrupted his thoughts.

"What?" Sora said, disconcerted.

"Well you do…"

"People! Concentrate!" Tidus nearl yelled, causing the anger of the old librarian. "We just skipped first period to be in the school library! Who skips a period to go to the library? If we do this kind of shmit, it has gotta be darn worthwhile!"

"Dude, if your gonna cuss, do it right." Sora pointed out.

Suddenly, they heard a low hiss from a corner, and a second later, the weird, frog-like librarian skulked out from under her desk and settled in her seat.

"Oooook, that really freaked me out." Tidus stated.

"Let's get out of here, ya? First period is over anyway, ya?" Wakka said, a bit pale in the face.

They all agreed and walked out of the library, only to find Kairi and Mikel rushing down the corridor, just as they passed, Sora could swear Kairi gave him a small smile, but maybe it was only in his head.

"Dude, they're heading towards The Room." Tidus said.

"What room?"

"The make-out room, ya?" The make-out room was in fact a room where the janitor kept unused cleaning products. The janitor had opened the door to find people making out one too many times.

Sora went a bit red. "I-I… don't be stupid, man. They're going to the… uh… somewhere."

"Whatever."

X X X

"Okay we're here- what the hell are you smiling about?" Mikel and Kairi crouched beneath the office's door.

"Nothing." She giggled.

"Right. So, what are we looking for?"

"A file. It's um… the name is… Ferguson… Ferguson Leda." She looked down to her knees.

Mikel stared at her. "Right."

"I… I'll explain later…" She kept her gaze to the floor.

Mikel sighed. "Let's go."

They stepped into the small, square office and looked around. At the center lay a desk, with two chairs in fron of it. On the desk was a computer and a plaque that read: 'Principal Dixon'. In the left corner they found a door that led to the private file room. Only the principal had access to these files, for some weird security reason. They picked the lock to the file room, just as they did to the office door and entered quietly.

Inside they found a gigantic file cabinet that housed hundreds of separate files. The quickly looked up the letter 'L' and pulled out file after file until at last…

"I got it!" Kairi announced triumphantly, holding a file in her hand.

"Okay, bag it and let's go." Mikel replied hurriedly.

They stepped out of the room, and throught the translucent glass in the door they could see a shadow walking toward s the room. The Principal was back.

"Bolt!" Mikel yelled, and tore outside the office and down the corridor that ran to the left of the office. They could hear running footsteps behind them, so they hid inside the first door they reached.

"Oh my God." Kairi gasped.

"What?"

"We're in the make-out room."

Mikel stared at her with a puzzled look on his face, and then it dawned on him… "There's no way he saw us go in here." He said.

"Well if he did… I mean he didn't see our faces… If he DID come this way, he'll search here…"

"And theres only one thing we can do to not look out of place."

"And it would explain why we're out of breath." Kairi was indeed panting a bit.

Suddenly, the doorknob turned, and th edoor opened a crack. Kairi wasted no time in suddenly putting her arms around Mikel and ramming her lips onto his, pulling him into a deep kiss.

Now, maybe it was just God's idea of a joke, maybe it was bad luck, but the person who opened the door had not been the principal. It was Naminè.

She stood in the doorway, transfixed. Her blue eyes wide and filled with disbelief. She immediately closed the door behind her and quickly strode away, wishing, pleading that she had been mistaken about who the people in there where. It's not my best friend and my… something making out in there, she said to herself again and again. She heard the door open and turned. It was Kairi who emerged from the door.

"Naminè it's not what you think…" Was the first thing Kairi managed to blurt out.

"I… I just…" Naminè couldn't form the words.

Kairi reached for her hand, but she snatched it away.

"Don't touch me!" She said in a high-pitched voice. She turned and ran full speed towards the exit.

Outside it was raining. More than raining, pouring. But that was the last thing in her overwhelmned mind. She ran up to a large tree and leaned on it. All it took was this small pause. The small pause to take it all in. That's all that it took to make the tears appear. She sobbed uncontrollaby, but didn't know why. Why would she feel this way about him? He had barely grunted to her earlier, why would she expect more from him? Maybe it was because of what happened at the beach. To her it had meant the start of something beautiful, but apparently, to him it was nothing. No meaning.

She hated him. She hated him, but the only thing she wanted right now was to feel his warm, conforting touch. She never wanted to speak to him again, and yet she wanted an explanation.

Inside the room, Mikel sat in the floor, his back against the wall, banging his head lightly. How could I've been so stupid? He thought. It wasn't the principal earlier. The shadow they saw throught the glass, he failed to recognized Naminè's small, slim shape as she walked towaards the office. She probably saw them rushing into the corridor and went looking for them in that room.

Mikel looked down and saw Kairi's file lying on the floor. He picked it up, but refrained from opening it, it wasn't his place. He opened the door and saw Kairi standing in the deserted corridor. No sign of Naminè except for some books she had dropped. He walked up to Kairi, holding the file out for her.

"Did you… look at it?" She asked as she took it, looking at the floor.

"No." Kairi nodded and walked past him, off to the cafeteria, for they had skipped three classes in their little mission. Mikel picked up Naminè's books and stored them in his own backpack.

Once he reached the cafeteria he quickly walked up to his usual table and found Sora, Tidus, and Wakka sitting there.

"Hey guys," He said, they all grunted 'Hey' back. "Seen Naminè?"

"Yeah," Sora spoke up. "She was headed for the exit. It's pouring outside man, maybe you should go get her…"

"Yeah that's kind of the point."

X X X

He stood at the doorway, watching. Naminè was standing beneath a tree, soaking wet, with tears flowing from her beautiful, blue eyes, and all he could do was stand there and watch.

"What do you want?" She said. She had finally noticed him, but wouldn't turn to face him.

He walked out into the pouring rain, standing just outside the shadow of the tree.

"What do you want?" She asked again, this time she whirled around to face him.

"You… dropped some books." He said lamely.

She turned away again. "Keep them."

He chukled. "What?"

"Just… leave me alone!" She yelled, shakeng her head angrily.

"Won't you give me a chance to explain?" He placed his hands on her shoulders, and felt them relax, if only a little bit, at his touch.

Her shoulder sagged under his warm hands, but she shook herself free after some moments. "Why should I? There's nothing to explain. I saw it myself."

"What happened is not what you saw. I…We thought you were the principal."

"I don't care!" She stared into his deep, brown eyes, demanding the truth. "Why should I? You never… felt anything for me… did you?"

No answer. But not because he wouldn't tell her, but because he didn't have an answer.

She let out a bitter laugh. "Stupid me… Why would cold, heartless Mikel Chormag feel anything for me? Not with pretty, innocent, sweet Kairi standing ready to backstab me, anyway…"

"Naminè, stop. She didn't betray you… She loves you."

Suddenly, a flash was seen in the sky for just an instant, followed by loud thunder. She started to walk away, bu he grabbed her hand and whirled her around. They stared at each other for a few seconds and then he pulled her into a tight embrace. Nothing else to be said, he whispered in her ear, "Let me take you home…"

He led her to the sidewalk, but not alone; school had been dissmised due to the heavy rains and the students were pouring into the streets, making their way to their homes.

Together, they walked down the street, holding hands and no longer paying attention to the rain or thunder. All that mattered was that they had each other, and an unspoken understanding had been enough to renew their strange relationship. Fragile as crystal, and ever-changing as the weather in Destiny Islands, only Fate knew what would come next…

Well here's chapter 4, a bit of a strange chapter in my opinion. Maybe it was a bit rushed… well only way I'll know is if you guys review so… review!

Next chapter will include more Sora, Kairi, and Roxas.


	5. One Sky

I like this one story of mine and I WILL finish it.

High

Chapter 5 One Sky

For some time, Destiny Islands had seen nothing but constant rain. Ever since that day when school was cancelled mid-day the rain has not stopped except for some hours every week or so.

Today was Friday morning and Roxas was currently trying to ignore his mother's loud shouts to wake him up. He had been dreaming. He dreamt his favorite dream about a certain blonde girl. He had been friends with this girl for a long time, but he always had had a secret crush on her, yet, she never showed interest in him, or at least not in the same way he did for her.

Roxas loved her. Naminè. Such a beautiful name was only fit for such a beautiful girl, he had always said. But not out loud, of course. But ever since that new kid came, Michael, or whatever his name was, they had distanced.

Roxas was jealous; a lot. He was jealous of the way they looked at each other, which was the same way he had looked at her. A monster raged in his stomach, churning at the thought of that guy.

"Roxas, get down here this instant!"

He slowly got up and walk to his bathroom…

X X X

"So you're telling me that Pi isn't relative to the addition of the frequencies?"

"Uh… I guess…" Roxas scratched the back of his head, confused.

Naminè laughed. An angelic sound, thought Roxas. They were sitting together at lunch, working on some math homework.

"Theres no way that Pi squared is bigger than the deviation multiplied by the frequencies, Rox." She stated, scribbling in her notebook.

"Belive me Nam, I have no idea what a frequency is. Or a deviation for that matter."

"I know." She smiled.

Roxas knew he had to finish before lunch was over, but he soon found that he could do nothing but stare at his blonde friend.

"Roxas?" Naminè waved her hand in front of his face.

Roxas started. "Oh sorry. Let's get this finished." He turned to his work, but couldn't resist the temptation of glancing at her again, but this time, Naminè's attention was focused somewhere else. Across the room Sora and Mikel were having a heated disscussion about nothing in particular. "You really like him don't you?" He asked unexpectedly.

Naminè suddenly snapped back to reality, surprised by the question. "I… uhh… what?"

"Nothing…" He answered, looking down to his knees.

"C'mon, ask me." She insisted.

"I asked if you really do like him." He jabbed his thumb in the direction of Mikel.

"Hmm…" She put on a face of deep thought. "Maybe… I don't know, I mean, somedays, he seems to like me, but some other days, it seems like he just wants to make me cry. And some others it looks like he doesn't even care."

"You shouldn't bother with him…"

"Roxas…" She looked down.

"Sorry." He said, and grabbed her hand. "I just don't want you to be sad…"

"I'm not!" She answered brightly, smiling that great smile of her's, she squeezed his hand and let go of it to continue her latest piece of work, which was no big deal. It showed a black-robed man with golden-brown hair. He held her good-luck charm: a simple, yellow star that was made of glass. Also, the brown haired guy was pointing a strange-looking blade at another black robed man, whose face was hidden by a hood. The idea for this picture had popped into her head from nowhere.

Naminè glanced back at Mikel and Sora and found the brown haired boy staring intently in her direction, as if he was expecting something to happen near her. She grinned and mouthed a 'Hi' at him, but he did not return it, in fact, he seemed not to notice it at all. He continued to stare and eventually looked away, starting a conversation with Kairi.

She and Kairi had grown quite apart ever since the incident in the broom closet some weeks ago. She knew what really happened, but they still stopped talking, and only Sora made an effort to get them to be friends again. One time, he tried kissing Naminè so that they would be even, but that only earned him a slap in the face. She had actually expected Mikel to do something about it too, but, as always, he was indifferent.

X X X

"Y'know, Riku's moving here next week." Sora told Kairi after an awkward silence.

"What?" Kairi blurted out.

"Yeah, he rented an apartment and will go to this school."

"This is… this is great!" You could tell Kairi wasn't really phsyched about the idea.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing… I'll tell you later." Kairi said. She stood up and opened the door a crack to peer throught. "Coast's clear."

"We should do this more often, ya know?" Sora said, with a sly smile on his face.

Kairi grinned. "Yeah, we really should." She straightened her clothes and walked out he door, acting natural. Sora waited a few minutes, he wiped some sweat from his forehead and smiled to himself. He then walked out too, with one last look at the door labeled 'B. C.'

Outside, Sora skipped (yes, skipped) down the hall and then broke into a weird dance, which was seen by none other than Mikel.

"I think there's a space in the cheerleading squad." He remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. Shut up." Sora laughed in spite of himself. "What class you got next?"

"Yuffie."

"Oh. Yeah me too." Sora grimaced. "Don't expect a fun class."

"What? Why would I?"

"No, stupid. I mean that she's really mad about something Leon-related."

"And I should care, why?"

"Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?" Sora said, exasperated.

"Dude, no one understands the words that come out of your mouth."

"Shut up."

"Let's go, we're gonna be late."

"So what? It's Yuffie."

"Mikel! Look at me! Read my lips! Yuffie is really pissed off because of something Leon-related!"

"Oh." He just… stood there. "So what are we doing standing here?"

"God…"

They set off running towards the classroom.

X X X

"Ms. Regal, whatever you're doing, I want it in my desk. Now."

"W… what?"

"Now." Ms. Jermus held out her hand.

Naminè turned beet red and handed over the sketch she had started that class.

"Aww isn't this cute?" Jermus, who was a strange, batty woman in her late 50s. "If teenage love isn't the cutest thing, then I'm a bat."

The whole class roared in laughter, but not because of her comment.

"Let's see." She continued, while Naminè walked back to her desk and buried her scarlet face in her arms. "Well, well, well. I seem to recognize this boy. Chormag isn't it?" She smiled evily, showing the picture to everyone. "Michael Chormag, yes…"

The class laughed again, and some were doing wolf whistles and singing idiotic love songs. No one could hear above all the sounds in the room, but Naminè was sobbing in her arms. Unfortunately, someone did hear.

"Ohhh, I'm sorry dearie, I didn't know this picture was so important." Jermus, said, and with malevolent intent, ripped the picture in half.

Suddenly, Naminè rose from her seat, her tear-striken face red with rage. "You… you… bitch!" She shook with anger, then stormed out of the classroom, while the whole class roared with laughter.

"Hmm… That's a month of detention, me thinks…" Jermus whispered with a smirk.

X X X

Naminè ran as fast as she could in the direction of the bathroom, when she bumped into someone, sending the both of them to the floor.

"Watch it!" He yelled, hastily gathering his fallen things. He had wild, brown-pink hair. He stopped once he noticed the state of the girl he had bumped into. "Hey, are you ok?"

"Naminè." A new guy appeared, Mikel. He picked her up, then turned to the pink-haired guy, who was staring at him.

"It's low tide." Mikel said, "don't you have some relatives to pick up?"

The other guy smirked, and got up. "See you around." He said to Naminè, and left.

"Who… who was he?" Naminè asked, stunned.

"No one, but if you see him, stay away."

"You say that and expect me to just forget it?"

He sighed. "Fine. His name's Maurlia, he's bad news. Now you wanna tell me what happened?"

Naminè, who had momentarily forgotten about the events in the classroom, suddenly felt herself sink beneath the emotions that came back with the memories. "Not really… not to you, anyway."

"Fine." He got up, and turned to leave.

"Wait." She looked up at him, and smiling slightly, outstretched her arms towards him. "Help me up?"

He did, and they set off together down the corridor, with people pointing and sniggering as they passed.

"So…" Naminè sighed.

"You better get to your next class…" Mikel said, avoiding her gaze.

"Wait." She grabbed his arm and pulled him closer.

"Naminè…"

"Shh…" She leaned even closer, her eyes half closed.

Mikel stood stunned as her face came nearer, and closed his eyes as their lips brushed together. He put his arms aaround her and deepened the kiss, until all of their worries dissapeared and all that mattered was this one moment, but all good things must end. He broke the kiss and turned away.

"I can't."

"Why not?" she asked sadly.

"I just… can't…" He tried to get away, but she wouldn't release her grip around him. She leaned in again, closing the distance between their faces again, and this time, he did not break it. Or at least not until a loud noise issued from around the corner. It didn't sound like a shout of laughter, but more of disgust and exasperation.

Naminè suddenly came to her sense. "I… I better get back to class…" She took off, glowing scarlet.

X X X

"I told you to stay out of it."

Two figures stood in the semi-darkness of the small cave that lay below the giant tree in the Isle of Fate.

"I had to do something. Things are getting out of hand."

Both men were wearing long, black coats and hoods that hid their faces. One was much bigger than the other. The taller figure lowered his hood to reveal bown-pinkish hair, and a lined face that spoke of great strength and cunning. But it was the other one that spoke.

"Remember, Marluxia: Just because the Superior gave you that castle doesn't mean that you have authority over the rest of us." The hooded figure stood in shadows, as if he was afraid to be seen.

"One of us? You are not one of us. You were granted a place in the Organization because…"

"Silence, if someone hears this, Xemnas won't be happy."

Marluxia made a sound of amusement. "As I said, things are getting out of hand. Be careful."

"I will."

"Also, you gave her my real name. Why?"

"The name I gave her is strange enough; if I gave her your current name, she would suspect thers something strange going on."

"Fine." Marluxia remained silent for a while, then pointed his hand to the wall, where a hole of darkness opened. "You were chosen for a reason, Ixkelm, don't let that reason ruin this."

"I won't." He responded, then left the cave.

X X X

Everyone knew that the best place to enjoy a sunset in Destiny Islands was the docks in the Isl of Fate. Most people thought it was the perfect place for a date, or maybe a romantic dinner. And that's exactly why Tidus and Mia were sitting in the wodden platform, their shoes beside them, with their feet in the cold, soothing water.

"So were… dating now?" Tidus asked nervously.

"Technically." Mia replied with a smile.

"Mikel won't like that…"

"My brother has… other things to worry about, we'll be okay."

"Other things?" Tidus looked at her.

"Naminè" She said quickly.

"Oh…"

They sat in silence for a while, Mia resting her head on his shoulder.

"I feel bad about that kid. Roxas. I heard he had a huge crush on Naminè." She said.

"Yeah well… He still has that other girl… Collette or something."

"Olette. And I heard she was going out with that Hayner dude."

"Oh… What's wrong?" he asked, as he saw tears emerge from Mia's brown eyes.

"Nothing… It's just that… I'm worried that this might not last very long…"

"What?" he said, disconcerted.

She laughed a bit. "Nothing, forget it."

"Ok."

X X X

This chapter's a bit shorter than the others, but the plot is finally advancing!

Marluxia's real name is just an anagram of the word Marluxia without the X; just like the other Nobodies whose real name is revealed in KHII. The same is true for Ixkelm.

Also, I'm editting chapter 1 'cause the story kind of went in another direction than I originally planned; for the good I hope.


	6. Sanctuary

High

Chapter 6 – Sanctuary

"Who did you say brought this?"

"Some girl, she just left it here and told me to give it to you."

"Was she blonde?" Mikel eyed the small box in his hand. It felt unnaturally heavy for it's size.

"Not really, more like silver. Feathery too. You know her?" Margaret felt even worse now, her "allergies" had really taken a lot out of her. She could barely speak for coughing, and felt lightheaded every now and then.

Mikel laughed out loud. "That's not a girl, grams. That's Riku."

"Oh, must be going senile, I guess." She said without cracking a smile.

"Nah, it's just easy to confuse him for a girl." He replied absentmindedly as he opened the small box. Inside was a note and a yellow star-shaped pendant made of what he supposed was glass, it had a small, green chain hanging from one of the points that looked like leaves. The note read:

_This is my lucky charm. May it bring luck to you as well._

_P.S.: I'm only letting you borrow this, so promise to give it back someday._

_Love,_

_Naminè _

He smiled and hung the star around his neck. After a few minutes the phone rang and a hushed voice answered when Mikel picked up.

"Are you alone?" It said quietly, it sounded female.

"Kairi?" He recognized the voice immediately.

"Shh!" It paused for a while. "I need to talk to you."

"Ok, I'll be at your place in 10."

"No, be at the dock, in an hour."

He hesitated, wondering what was going on. "Ok, I'll be there."

"Ok bye." She hung up immediately.

He sighed, he had enough in his plate without Kairi coming to him too, I mean, it's great that she trusts him with this, but he really didn't need something else to worry about.

"Who was it?" Mia had only just emerged from her room, looking disheveled and sleepy. She stiffled a yawn.

"Tidus." He lied.

"Really?" Mia's face lit up like a light bulb at the mention of his name. "What did he want?"

"Well… he asked for you, so I told her- him that you were asleep." He eyed his watch shiftily.

"Why did you do that?" She asked angrily.

"Well, you were asleep, dearie." Margaret had finally spoken after some time of being silent.

"Hey, Grams." Said Mia. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, yes, I am perfectly fine." She said with a weak smile. She looked bent and tired, like butter scraped over too much bread, if you know what I mean.

"We should take you to a doctor." Mia said, concerned.

"No, it's just age finally catching up with me." She turned back to her newspaper and sipped some coffee.

"Well, I'm off." Mikel grabbed his black jacket from the couch.

"Were are you going?" Margaret asked.

"The beach; I'll be back before nightfall." He adjusted his jacket over his shoulders.

"Well that's a manly pendant you got." Mia remarked.

"It's Naminè's."

"You going out with her now?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not at this precise moment, but, yeah, I guess we are going out later."

"Great. If you see Tidus out there, tell him to call me would ya?"

"Sure." Mikel opened the door and set off along the street.

It was a forty-five minute trip to the beach, but he didn't want to seem really intersted in the matter, so he would be late five minutes. He decided to stop at the ice-cream parlor to get himself a hard earned treat. I had been too long since he had last tasted the world-famous Destiny Islands' sea salt ice cream.

He was about to cross the glass doors that separated the building from the outside world when he heard a voice calling out to him. He turned to see Naminè sitting at one of the tables set outside.

"Hey." He said. "What are you doing sitting outside?" He walked up to her and pulled a chair from a nearby table.

"It's creepy sitting inside the shop alone, with that guy staring at me all the time." She looked down to the table to continue her work. Mikel noticed that she was working on another sketch. Man, did she really love this things, he thought.

"Didn't Jermus take this?" He asked, staring at the picture. It was the one with the two men dressed in black; One holding a sword on the other, while holding a yellow star on the other hand. There was a new addition to the picture, however, this time, it showed the other black-robed figure holding a gigantic, pink scythe.

Immediately he looked away, disconcerted.

"No, she got another one." She set her drawing pencil down, looking put-off. "I see you did wear it." She said, pointing to the pendandt hanging from Mikel's neck.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Oh, nothing. I just thought you would think it looked a bit… queer." She giggled.

"Why should I care? You gave it to me." He said with a grin.

"Borrowed." Naminè corrected, blushing a bit. "You going somewhere?"

"The beach, but I've got a few minutes to-… Oh crap!" He glanced at his watch, and he had only fifteen minutes to get to the beach. "Gotta go." He hastily leaned over to kiss her in the cheek, but accidentaly tripped on the table and crashed down on her face a bit harder than intended. He recovered and took off running towards the docks.

"Call me!" Naminè called after him.

X X X

They were nowhere to be found. They are always nowhere to be found. Ever since rumors started that they were dating, Hayner and Olette had disappeared from the map completely. He would call Pence, but he's just boring to hang around with alone.

Roxas even tried Naminè's cell, but it seemed to be out of range, which is weird because he had just seen her outside, heading to the ice cream place. He would've followed her, but she carried her sketchbook, and that meant that her mind would be somewhere else, and would not pay attention to any conversation they might have.

She really loves those things, he thought. She always went to the ice cream parlor to work on her drawings, and the owner of the shop would hang the really good ones on the wall.

Roxas walked around the beach in Fate Isle, his back to the gigantic tree that stood on the center of the island. He thought he had seen Kairi sitting at the docks, but he figured she wanted to be alone; and he never really hung out with that group, except for Naminè and maybe Selphie.

The sweltering heat finally got to him, so he turned back to splash some water from the waterfall on his face. He was halfway there when he heard a noice behind him. A deep, hoarse laugh. He whirled around and saw that he was still completely alone. He turned back and continued his journey, walking a bit faster.

"You look a lot like him."

It was the voice again. He turned and saw a man dressed in black robes, hooded.

"W-who are you?" Roxas backed slowly as the man came nearer.

"I'm all that there is left. Or maybe… maybe I'm all there ever was." The black-robed man stopped walking.

"I meant your name." This time, Roxas stood his ground, and tried to sound calm, although he was shaking all over.

Suddenly, quick as a flash, the man was on him, holding a sword to his neck. The sword was shaped like the insignia on the man's gloves. A silver heart and cross that joined at their points.

"My name is of no importance." He growled to Roxas' ear. He could feel the cold metal sinking into his flesh, sending deep waves of pain down his body.

"What… do you… want?" Roxas sturggled to speak with the blade pressed to his throat, and even then it only came out in barely more than a whisper.

"Can you feel… Sora?" He asked.

"Wh-…what?" Suddenly, the pressure of the blade disappeared, along with the man's sent and presence.

"Roxas."

Roxas whirled around and saw Mikel standing there, wearing the same black robe as the man who attacked him. "M… Mikel?"

"Can you feel him?" He asked stonily, in the same deep voice. Then he raised his hand and pointed to the sky, all the while with a blank expression on his face.

Roxas looked to where he pointed and saw a blue light shooting down from the sky. Even from where he was standing, Roxas could see the familiar blonde, swirling, spiky hair of the boy falling from the sky, enveloped in the light. He could see his deep blue eyes open slowly as he mouthed a single word. "Sora."

Roxas yelled as he sat up in his bed, panting. He realized he was back in his room. It was still dark outside, and when he looked at his clock it showed it was barely six o'clock in the morning.

X X X

"You're late." Kairi didn't take her eyes from the deep, blue sea while she scolded Mikel.

"Sorry." Mikel replied, not really meaning it. "What's this about, Kairi?"

She looked deeply troubled and took a moment to calm herself down. "Remember… when we snuck into the principal's office? Back when… you and Naminè weren't…"

"Talking." He finished the sentence. It was true; Naminè refused to speak to him for some time, and they only made up a few days before the incident with Jermus and the run-in with Maurlia. "This is about the file we stole, isn't it?" He asked uncomfortably.

"Yeah… It's about… Ferguson." Her gaze dropped to her knees.

"Your father?" His voice was devoid of sympathy.

"My… brother, actually." She looked at him strangely. "I just thought… He was last seen in that city where you come from…"

He raised his eyebrows in question.

"He… He used to go to our school, but then he went to Arkane, and we never heard of him again. He just… disappeared." Crystal clear tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

"So you thought that because I come from Arkane, I might've recognized him?" He said with a hint of bluntness. Kairi nodded, and wiped her eyes with the hem of her jacket. He shook his head. "Sorry."

Suddenly, he heard a sob that was quickly stiffled, but noticeabe, all the same.

"I just… r-really miss him." She sobbed in anguish.

"Kairi…" Mikel glanced at her. She was sobbing openly into her knees, hiding her face. "I have to go…"

"Don't… don't leave me." She sobbed.

"I'm sorry, I really am…" He tried to make it sound truthful, he tried to make himself really feel it, but there was something that stopped it, he didn't feel sorry, much less did he feel guilty.

"Oh… Then I guess I was wrong about you after all." She had finally stopped crying.

"… Wrong?" He turned to face her, and saw she was staring angrily at him.

"Yeah, back when we first met, remember?" She said, with a casual voice. "Everyone knew you were a jerk, you know, the way you looked at everyone, treated everyone; the way you treated Naminè."

Mikel stood there, frozen.

"We tried to talk her out of it, you know? This whole 'going out with you' bussines, but she just wouldn't hear a word against you."

"We're not-"

"Let me finish." She snarled, and he immediately fell silent. He had never seen Kairi like this. "As time passed, we began to think better of you, we thought you changed. For her. But deep inside, I knew you wouldn't- you couldn't. Why do you think I asked your help stealing this anyway?" She motioned to the file laying on the floor.

"Why are you saying this…?" He said quietly. For some reason, he felt choked up. He couldn't breath right.

"Because you need to know, before you hurt her again. You need to know: You are lucky to have a friend like Naminè." She was now on her feet, facing Mikel, but what came next shocked him more than it did her.

Mikel felt something warm and wet travelling down his cheek. He then realized it was a tear, and hastily wiped it away. His face never lost that hard look, so it looked very out of place. What the hell was that? He thought.

Instead of sympathy, Kairi felt her contemp for the brown haired boy growing inside of her. "You don't deserve her." She finished coldly, and walked past him., and as she did, she glanced at the star-shaped pendant hanging from his neck.

Mikel ould not move, but his mind wasn't on what Kairi had said, but instead it focused on what was happening to him. Was this guilt? Anger? …Hate? He couldn't know, he couldn't see… This wasn't supposed to happen. But as quickly as it had come, it was gone, and he felt his usual self. Empty.

"I… I felt…" He whispered.

X X X

Naminè had returned to her house, and now sat on her bed, resting her eyes. It was calm. Quiet. A moment's reprieve that she had wanted for a long time. She wanted to think about a lot of things. Stupid things; like who would she partner with for the upcoming science project, or if Mikel had noticed her new outfit earlier. Prolly no, she thought. But still. It comforted her to think about him.

What with nothing except the sound of rustling leaves and the occasional sigh of the wind coming into her room, it was no wonder she fell asleep within minutes.

She was standing in a dark cave. The jagged walls of rock were lined with chalk pictures of what seemed to be grotesque monsters. It was a while until she noticed she was not alone. There stood two other figures in the room, and both were dressed in black robes, black boots, gloves, and hoods. It seemed oddly familiar. It gave her a weird sense of deja-vu.

"This world has been connected." One of the figures uttered darkly.

"Tied to the darkness… Soon to be completely eclipsed." The other one spoke.

Suddenly, more of this figures started appearing from the shadows.

"One who knows nothing can understand nothing."

"One who is nothing can feel nothing."

"A far-off memory that is like a scattered dream."

"A scattered dream that is like a far-off memory…" Their voices reverbrated(sp?) on the walls of the cave, echoing eerily. They were growing in number, multiplying from the shadows.

"Nothing is whole," One of the figures said louder than the rest of the voices.

"And yet, nothing is broken." Another of the shadows finished.

Naminè backed away from the shadows, trying to slip away. She bumped into something solid and whirled around, startled. Standing there was the biggest shadow of them all.

"I am all that's left," It said. "Or all that there ever was." It lowered his hood and Naminè immediately recognized the cold, emotionless, brown eyes and brown hair of Mikel.

He bent down to her and whispered in her ear. "Can you… feel?"

Naminè woke up with a loud scream, drenched in her own sweat. It had been a dream… but it had felt far too real…

Ok this chapter was short, bad, and boring, but nonetheless important. Sorry, I just suddenly ran out of ideas for it.

Also, any character that is left out in a chapter will most likely receive more focus in next chapter.

And finally, thanks to bunnywitharing for being my first reviewer! Good luck with your story bunny.


	7. Advertising Space

Hello and welcome to the 7th installment of my story, High.

High

Chapter 7 Advertising Space

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Z Z Z

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"Man, today sucks."

Probably not the most involved and intelligent comment of the day, but nonetheless true.

"Yeah, I mean, it's like idiot hot out there." Selphie leaned back on her seat, holding one of those pocket-size fans in front of her face.

"Yuff, you're the scientist, you tell her why it can't be 'idiot' hot." Tidus said with a muffled voice, his head resting on his arms.

In response, Yuffie made a noise of annoyance. "Again?"

While Selphie's description of the weather wasn't exactly real, it was accurate; the sun was glaring down on them from the cloud-less sky, causing unusually high temperatures.

"So were's Naminè?" Kairi asked, trying to catch some of Selphie's air.

"Detention." Sora replied.

"And Mia?"

"Over there." Sora pointed to a table near the wall. Only two people sat on it: Mia and her brother, Mikel.

Kairi looked away, not wanting to be caught staring. Especially not by him…

"So… you guys not talking yet?" Yuffie asked quietly.

"Duh… I practically made the man cry. Well, not exactly, but it was really weird." Kairi responded, not feeling especially proud of it. She tried to suppress the need to look at them again, but failed. She could see that Mikel was trying to read a book, but kept squinting and holding his head in pain, then tried again, only to achieve the same results.

X X X

"You need an aspirin." Mia muttered, sipping her drink.

"No I don't." Mikel blinked, trying to force back the pain in his head.

"Yeah, you do..." She lowered her voice. "And anyway, I thought people like you couldn't feel anything."

"Pain is not an emotion. It's the body's response to stimuli." He said curtly, another wave of pain passing his brain.

"Oh… Well sorry, Yuffie-o."

He looked up at her. "I need an aspirin." He said.

"No duh. So why aren't you with Naminè?" She smiled.

"She's in detention."

"Yeah, for drawing you. Maybe you should get detention on purpose."

"Do I look like an idiot?" He replied sarcastically.

"Wouldn't that be romantic?" Mia's big, brown eyes suddenly became glassy and stared of into space.

"I wouldn't know." He said, and Mia was instantly sobered up.

"Sorry…"

X X X

Man, today is just idiot hot, Naminpe thought. She then admitted to herself that she spent way too much time with Selphie. She was sitting in the edge of an old, ready-to-collapse chair, with a desk in front that looked equally battered.

She stared at the gigantic lady sleeping at the front desk to make sure she was asleep, then got her sketchbook out, but not to continue her work. She flipped throught the pages until she found that drawing she had been doing when she was at the ice cream parlor.

Yesterday's dream flashed back into her memories. The shadows that kept repeating those wierd words. Nothing whole, but nothing broken? As she said, wierd. She stared at her piece of work, and examined the black clothing she had drawn herself as if it were someone else's work. They were identical to the ones the shadows wore…

She was shaken out of her thoughts by a loud voice outside the room, followed by a loud crash and the door being opened forcefully by a certain brown-haired kid with blue eyes and a goofy grin on his face.

"Sorry." He muttered, then took his place. He looked around the room as if contemplating the view and completely avoiding Naminè's gaze.

"You gonna explain that?" She asked once the big lady in the front desk fell asleep.

"I tripped." He replied, with the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

"Uh-huh…" She eyed him shiftily. "So why are you here anyway?"

"Homework."

"Oh…"

They sat in silence for a while, as if thinking of what to say next.

"So, anyway…" They both said at the same time.

"You first." Naminè said, blushing slightly.

"No, you go." Sora laughed.

"Ok." She adjusted her dress beneath her and continued. "What's going on between you and Kairi?"

"Well actually-.. What!" He choked, disconcerted.

Naminè giggled. "Everyone knows." She rolled her eyes, as if it was obvious.

Sora pouted. "Well, we're kinda… going out?"

"Figures. One starts and then everyone wants to do it too." She said with a face of mock sadness.

"I hope you're not talking about you, Ms. I-can't-look-at-my-boyfriend.without-crying-my-eyes-off."

"Hey!" She cried angrily, then looked down to her knees as she contemplated her not-so-stable relationship with Mikel.

"Sorry…" Sora looked down too. They both looked up at the same time, and stared at each other, then looked away in unison, both of them blushing.

"So what's going on between my boyfriend and your girlfriend?" Naminè asked, eager to change the subject.

"She's not my-…" Sora stopped midway and sighed, giving up. "They had an argument or something, and now Kairi's too scared too even look at him."

"Afraid? I don't think so." She laughed.

"Well, you guys are so damn complicated, I don't even know what's up anymore. Mikel doesn't seem to remember it, since he greeted Kairi quite friendily earlier." He nodded in a know-it-all way.

"Friendily? Is that a word?" She wondered. "I've never seen it in my dictionary, or used in a sentence…"

"Rambling."

"Right." She straightened herself. "That thing he's doing, it's called passive-aggressive. We girls use it all the time; it's our best weapon against you boys. Well, that and making you insanely guilty about stupid stuff. And being whiny, except if you bring Selphie into the picture-…"

"I get the point." Sora interrupted, looking scared. "I was thinking more along the lines of 'he doesn't give a crap', but yours seems more… logical."

"Yep."

X X X

"Roxas, I don't care if it was the Teletubbies you dreamt about, but if I hear you spewing one more of your idiotic theories, I'm gonna pick up this pencil and poke little holes in your-"

"It's not idiotic." Roxas muttered dejectedly while his black-haired friend, Pence, rambled on about various ways to end one's life.

"Pence, stop being gross." A girl with clear, green eyes said after hearing a particularly disgusting sentence involving a rectum and a chainsaw.

"It's not like he can help it, anyway." Hayner teased.

"Hey!"

"Everyone, shut up!" Roxas suddenly found himself standing, and fuming, picked up a small, orange bag.

"What's wrong with you?" Hayner stood in front of him, blocking his way out.

"I have to find out who he really is." Roxas said through gritted teeth.

"There is nothing to find."

"I don't trust him."

"Neither do I," Hayner said. "But your friend, Naminè, you said she's having the same dreams?"

Roxas nodded. "You sayin' I should… talk to her?"

"Exactly."

Roxas nodded. "Right… Yeah, maybe I should…"

X X X

"You said it was important." Naminè looked into his eyes.

"It is." He stared back, then looked away.

Roxas was sitting in Naminè's living room, a glass of water resting in the table in front of him.

"It's about him."

"Yeah, I thought it would be." She looked away. "Thaty's all we ever talk about since we… since… you get the point…"

"It's the dreams, Naminè. I know he's involved, somehow…" He shook his head. "You shouldn't be with him…"

"Roxas, we talked about this!" Once again, Naminè turned to look out the window. "I'm sorry that things didn't turn out the way you wanted, but that doesn't mean that everyone else is…" She paused. "I just wanted us to be friends, Roxas. I know you wanted more, but… I'm sorry…"

"This isn't about that, Naminè." Roxas said in a dark voice. "This isn't about you and me, this is about you and him. He's not who he says he is-"

"Get out." She did not break eye contact, even thought a couple of hot tears streamed down her face.

"Stop being so goddamn stupid!" Roxas yelled angrily.

She didn't realize what she did until it was too late, and only did so by the burning pain on her hand and a large, red mark on Roxas's face. Her eyes widened in shock and fear. "Get out, Roxas."

Roxas silently walked to the doorway and opened the door.

"I'm sorry." He uttered before leaving.

X X X

"Sora, don't ever change."

Sora smiled, and and wrapped his arms around the red-headed girl next to him.

"Whattaya mean?"

"It's just that… Everyone's changed this year, I mean, playful, crazy Tidus is now in love with a pretty, calm girl who's idea of a good time is just sitting in the beach staring at the sky. Me, small, shy Kairi and the next thing you know, I'm yelling my lungs out at some boy. Naminè is just a total emotional wreck ever since he came. I just want you to stay the way you are. Same ol' Sora."

"I guess I'll try." He said, confused.

"Maybe you shouldn't try at all." A new voice said. Sora turned and saw Riku walking across the bridge that connected the small piece of land they were sitting on to Fate Isle.

"What do YOU mean?" Kairi stared.

"Embrace change. Accept it, and it will be for the good." Riku said with misty eyes as he leaned against the bent tree on the edge of the small isle.

"I'll have whatever you're smokin'" Sora remarked.

"Fine, laugh. But later on don't come crying to me for some wise advice."

"I'll put it on my 'Things to do before I die' list."

"Hey, that rimes." Kairi said absentmindedly.

Sora laid down on the bent trunk and stared out into the sea. "It sure does."

They all stayed silent for a while, wondering whatever it is that they wonder and contemplating the everlasting beauty of the sea that lay before them. Moments like this were rare in Destiny Islands, but it was moments like this that made it worthwhile to simply be there.

Kairi walked over to the tree and poked Riku. He squirmed and groaned. Kairi continued poking him playfully, giggling.

"Buggah off." Riku said with a fake aussie accent, and seeing that Kairi did not relent he hoped off and started tickling her like crazy.

"Stop it Riku!" She laughed and broke away from him, and started tickling him back.

"Sora, help me!" Riku yelled laughing too, while in the middle of a tickling fight with Kairi. Sora joined in the fight by tickling them both and then they both joined forces against him.

The three of them ran across the bridge and to the beach laughing until, exhausted, they laid down on the sand, side by side.

"Now this is more like it." Kairi whispered, and took Sora's hand in her own.

X X X

Shock would be the right word to describe her face as Naminè entered her room and closed the door behind her.

"Is your brother here?" She asked with a vivid look on her face.

"Uh… No… why?" Mia leaned back on her chair,

"It's just that… Roxas said something… I just needed to know…" She bowed her head. "IS Mikel in some kind of… cult or something?"

Mia's expression darkened for a second, but then bursted out laughing. "Of course not, Nam. What makes you say that?"

Naminè giggled in spite of herself. "Nothing… it's… nothing…"

"What's wrong?" She asked symphatetically.

"It's… Roxas, he… he started yelling and I… I slapped him" Naminè's mind raced, images of the incident flashed throught her mind.

"Naminè, calm down. Tell me what happened."

She sighed. "Roxas came into my house, and started asking questions about your brother. He told me he was not who he says he is, and that I shouldn't see him anymore."

"So what happened next?"

"I… I think I misunderstood his intentions. I thought he was trying to get me to leave him because he's got a… thing for me. I slapped him." Naminè sighed. "What's wrong with you?" She asked.

Mia had a huge smile on her face. A smile that could only mean one thing.

"Mia, are you thinking the same thing that I am?" Naminè asked catiously.

"I sure am." Mia got up and went to her door. "Call the girls, I'll get everything ready."

They both squealed and ran out to the living room. Mia got there first and snatched up the phone. "I'll call Selphie!"

"Ok, I'll be back in a while!" Naminè chimed and left at a run towards her own house as Mia talked into the phone.

Mia waited a while and then stopped talking. She had been speaking while the dial tone played. She dialed a number and waited. Then a voice spoke.

"What's up?"

"It's her. She asked some questions."

"Yeah… So?" The voice sounded confused.

"I think she suspects something."

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Well the plot doesn't advance that much in this chapter, but whatever.

I seem to have a weird problem where I constantly abuse the use of the three Xs which mean that we are moving on from the current event. Please let me knoe if it bothers you and I'll try to fix it.

I'm thinking of ending this story in about… 4 or 5 chapters, but I promise it'll be good. R&R

Signin' out,

-Kinoarashi


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